Primary School Students' Parents' Level of Involvement into Their Children's Education.

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which parents of elementary students (1st to 5th) participate in their children's education with regard to some variables. The study was designed based on descriptive survey model and comparative and correlational associative models. The sample of the research comprised 1252 parents whose children studied at 1st to 5th classes of six primary schools in Malatya province. The Parental Involvement Scale was used to collect data. As a result of the analysis, it was found out that parents' level of involvement was high for such tasks as communication with children, creating enabling home settings, supporting child's personality development, and helping with homework, but low especially for volunteering. Also mothers were found to support their children's homework significantly more than fathers ( 2 = .05 and d= .48). Finally, families' monthly income was found to be positively and moderately associated especially with involvement tasks of supporting child's socio-cultural development and creating enabling home settings, and negatively and moderately with volunteering task.Key WordsParental Involvement, Parents, Primary School.Parents, especially the mothers, are first and natural teachers of their children (Gursimsek, 2003; Shearer, 2006; Ulusavas, 1992; West, Noden, Edge, & David, 1998). When a child attends the school, parent's role as teacher does not cease. Though a curriculum is implemented by teachers in a school setting, formal education is not limited with providing students with knowledge, skills or attitudes within the boundaries of school (Taymaz, 1995). Parents must be considered a constant and principle component of curriculum. Success at school is guaranteed if school-based instruction is supported by parents' involvement at home (Simsek & Tanaydin, 2002). The concept of parental involvement includes various parental behaviours directly or indirectly affecting a child's cognitive development and school achievement (Fantuzzo, Davis, & Ginsburg, 1995). Thus a large spectrum of acts can be considered as parental involvement including getting informed about and supporting the curriculum being implemented (Milli Egitim Bakanligi Talim Terbiye Kurulu Baskanligi [MEB TTKB], 2008a, 2008b); volunteering in or visiting classroom (Woolley, Benjamin, & Woolley, 2004), monitoring child's progress in cooperation with the teacher (Aslanargun, 2007; Celenk, 2003; Erdem & Simsek, 2009), or creating a home environment physically and psychologically facilitating learning (Aslanargun; Epstein, 1995, 2004, 2005; MEB TTKB, 2008a).Involving parents in education has been reported to yield positive outcomes in many aspects including increased student attendance to and satisfaction with school (Hiatt-Michael, 2008), better academic achievement (Greenwood & Hickman, 1991; Shearer, 2006), motivation, school attachment, responsibility and confidence (Yildirim & Donmez, 2008), better social adaptation and less discipline problems (Kotaman, 2008). In Turkish education system parental involvement is encouraged defining parents as shareholders who actively help creating a democratic school environment (MEB, 2003), support educational and instructional activities (MEB, 2012), and help and guide students especially in social activities (MEB, 2005). The importance of parental important is also highlighted in renewed constructivist curriculum launched in 2005-2006 school year (MEB Talim ve Terbiye Kurulu Baskanligi Egitim Ogretim ve Program Dairesi Baskanligi [MEB TTKB EOPDB], 2005), where parental involvement was one of the 15 principles on which the components and content of curricula were based. E5. Achieving Parental Involvement and Cooperation was also one key competency categories of General Competencies for Teaching Profession defined by the ministry (MEB Ogretmen Yetistirme ve Egitimi Genel Mudurlugu [MEB OYEGM], 2006). …